Canadian artists often have a difficult time finding their footing in the U.S. Aside from the “big” artists like Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Neil Young, Drake, and The Weeknd, I’ve always found it odd that jumping the border musically is far more difficult for Canucks than it is for the Brits.
Our Lady Peace has made the jump many times and offered quite an impact over the decades, so to hear that they’re releasing a new track (albeit not exactly new but a “redux” of a 2003 single) and the news hasn’t been stuck at the border with stupid tariffs is refreshing (okay… that’s a stupid statement… but then again, considering all that’s currently going on, is it really?).
Not only that, all proceeds generated from this new version of “Whatever” are being donated to mental health an suicide prevention initiatives.
Per the press release:
“Whatever (Redux)” was originally written for the WWE in 2003 and used by Canadian wrestler Chris Benoit as his entrance theme. In 2007, the tragic circumstances surrounding Benoit led the band to separate themselves from the song. In recent years, “Whatever” has continued to be among the band’s top-streaming songs in their catalog, even amongst their biggest hits. To the delight of fans everywhere, they decided to make it part of their “OLP30” celebration to reclaim the song and its subject matter—isolation and mental health–which is important to talk about now more than ever. With all that in mind, the band will donate proceeds from “Whatever (Redux)” to mental health and suicide prevention initiatives.
“It’s been 23 years since the tragic events surrounding WWE wrestler Chris Benoit and the theme song we wrote for him,” says singer Raine Maida. “We feel that enough time has passed that it was necessary to re-record ‘Whatever’ to help shine a light on suicide prevention and mental health awareness.”
So good on you, our Canadian friends! Good on you. And the redux on the track is pretty dang good too!
And if you’re so inclined, Our Lady Peace are on tour this summer:
Sat Jul 26 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sun Jul 27 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Wed Jul 30 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
Thu Jul 31 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
Sat Aug 2 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sun Aug 3 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Tue Aug 5 – Greensboro, NC – White Oak Amphitheatre
Wed Aug 6 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium
Fri Aug 8 – Rouyn Noranda, QC – Osisko Festival (not part of “Summer Unity Tour”)
Sat Aug 9 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Sun Aug 10 – Nashville, TN – FirstBank Amphitheater
Wed Aug 13 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Fri Aug 15 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
Sat Aug 16 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Mon Aug 18 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Tue Aug 19 – Denver, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater*
Thu Aug 21 – Lincoln, NE – Pinewood Bowl Theater*
Fri Aug 22 – Ridgedale, MO – Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
Sat Aug 23 – Albertville, AL – Sand Mountain Amphitheater*
Tue Aug 26 – Simpsonville, SC – CCNB Amphitheatre
Thu Aug 28 – Charlotte, NC – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
Fri Aug 29 – Grantville, PA – Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course*
Sat Aug 30 – Atlantic City, NJ – Ocean Casino Resort
*Non-Live Nation Date
